Conversations on a Saturday
by atlee
Summary: Three sets of conversations on an otherwise uneventful Saturday. A one-shot in two parts set between Seasons 2 and 3. There will be humor! There will be drama! There will be no action whatsoever!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I thought I'd wrap a short one-shot (ok, a two-shot now) around the characters having three different conversations. The story takes place in current time (or the large gap of time between Seasons 2 and 3), and kind of focuses on where things have left off post-finale. _

_Hope everybody enjoys this, and please review!  
_

_And of course, I don't own "Chuck." I couldn't afford it. If NBC ever decides to do a spinoff called "Lester" then maybe I could. But not "Chuck."_

Conversations on a Saturday

One thing Sarah didn't like about her current assignment was the lack of anything resembling seasons. The possibility that a Saturday morning in January would feel just a little bit different from a Saturday morning in August was something she had taken for granted most of her life, and now she really missed it.

So, the breath of cool air was a bit of a surprise as she stepped outside. Her new jogging buddy seemed to barely notice, however. "C'mon Sarah," she heard him say. "The path off to the right is my favorite jogging route. Trust me, it's _awesome_."

Sarah smiled at the other's enthusiasm. Only Devon Woodcombe could get so excited about jogging. She picked up her pace and was soon right beside him. "So, why'd you ask me to join you?"

"Well, Ellie has never been big on the workouts, and Chuck, well, he's never shown any interest. So I thought it might be nice to have a workout buddy."

Devon hadn't said much to Sarah about what he had discovered a few weeks ago. Devon and Ellie had only just returned from their honeymoon, while Sarah had spent her time with Chuck and Casey trying to learn everything they could about the new intersect. Sarah had been struggling with that as well, as she no longer knew what to expect from Chuck. This was partly because of the new "talents" that seemed to be appearing out of nowhere, and partly for other reasons. She always liked working out, because it helped her clear her mind of such situations. However, Devon seemed to prefer to spend his workouts talking.

"So next week some I'm going rock climbing with some buddies of mine from the hospital. I bet you and Chuck would have a lot of fun if you came along."

"To be honest, spending my time off seeking danger isn't really my thing."

"How dumb of me," Devon replied. "Why would you need to look for danger? It just comes right to you."

Sarah was reluctant to talk about her job, though she wasn't surprised Devon was bringing it up. "You know I can't talk to you about that, Devon. You aren't even supposed to know what we do."

"Oh, I understand. Believe me. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole thing. Chuck, a spy. I never would have guessed. You, I guess I can see that. And John Casey, definitely. But Chuck…"

"You should give him more credit. Chuck can surprise you." Sarah couldn't go into details, but she didn't want to see her asset insulted either.

"Oh, no doubt. I just never realized he was such a good actor. The whole bumbling, Nerd Herd thing. He really pulls it off." Sarah smiled.

The path was now leading into a small park. Devon motioned to a small newsstand by the side of the road. "C'mon. Let's get some water. And then we can head around the park, before we head back. I want to see Ellie when she gets home from her shift."

* * *

Ellie sighed happily. These overnight shifts were always bad, but they were especially rough when one had only just returned from her honeymoon. Thankfully, she had been able to leave a little bit early, since apparently it was too nice a day for anybody in the greater Burbank area to be sick. As she entered the house, she found two notes on the kitchen table. One from Devon, saying he was out jogging with Sarah, and the second from Chuck saying he was spending the day with John Casey.

Ellie smiled. This was good news for several reasons. It was great that Devon had found somebody to jog with, and he could stop bugging her about it. It was great that Chuck had found somebody to hang out with now that Morgan was gone. And it was great that the house was deserted, so she could enjoy some quality "Ellie" time without interruption.

Unfortunately, "Ellie" time was quickly interrupted by the ringing of the telephone. She grudgingly picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Chuck?"

"Chuck's not here right now. Morgan, is that you?"

"Ellie, where's Chuck? I need him."

"I'm sorry Morgan. He's out for the day. Have you tried his cell?"

"He's not picking up! That's why I called here. This is an emergency!"

"What's going on? Aren't you in Hawaii?"

"Yeah. I'm supposed to interview for the Benihana school today. And I'm freaking out. I need Chuck to talk me through it."

"Well, what about Anna?"

"My Anna Banana is great at a lot of things. Pep talks aren't one of them. I need the patented Chuck Bartowski psyching up!"

Ellie sighed. This wasn't going to be a short call. "Morgan, I don't know what to tell you. Chuck is out with John Casey. I don't know when he'll be back."

"Wait, you mean he's already replaced me with a new best friend? And it's John Casey? That is wrong in so many ways!"

"I'm sure he's not replacing you, Morgan. I know he misses you." Still, Ellie thought, it was nice that Chuck had found somebody to hang out with that would involve a little less fooling around playing silly games.

* * *

The explosion was louder than Chuck had expected. He didn't know why; in the last couple of years he'd witnessed more explosions than anyone would ever want to.

"Not bad." Casey handed the binoculars over to Chuck. There was a glitter in Casey's eyes and a small smile had escaped from his usual stony gaze. The man liked his explosions. "I call that a thing of beauty."

"So that's what you find beautiful, Casey? Exploding school buses?"

Casey shrugged. "It was an old bus I found abandoned. Hadn't been used in years. One of those short buses, like you used to ride."

"Oh, ha ha. Well, I guess we can add explosives to the intersect's skill set list."

Casey's frown surprised Chuck. He would have thought that having an asset that could handle explosives would have pleased the NSA agent. Not that he could explain what he had done, or even exactly remember what he had done. It was as if he had been a marionette whose strings were being pulled by some demolition-savvy puppeteer.

Casey was still glowering. "What gives?" Chuck asked. "I thought you'd be thrilled I could do all this stuff now. You could go off on some non-babysitting missions."

Casey grunted. "You think you can protect yourself now?"

"Well, you saw the kung fu moves, right? And, all the firearms you had me try. If I'm remembering right, I believe I outshot you."

Casey's eyes narrowed. "I see. You think you're some superspy now, huh? You know, some of us worked hard to be able to do what we do. Years of training. Hours of drilling, repeating the same things, over and over. It took all that for me to be as good at all of this as I am today. And you think you're better than that, just because you plugged a toaster into your brain?"

Chuck stared at him silently, before muttering, "I'm, uh…"

"Come on, moron!" Casey growled. "Time to see what other skills you've 'earned.'" Chuck winced as Casey grabbed his arm and dragged him back to the car.

* * *

"So can I ask you questions if I don't bring up National Security or anything?"

Sarah eyed Devon warily as she swallowed a gulp of water from the bottle. She was starting to worry that her 'jogging buddy' was turning into Barbara Walters. "I don't know. What are you asking?"

"You guys must be able to do about anything, right?"

"Well, I don't know about that."

"You probably can, say, break into any locked door, right?"

Sarah shrugged. It was a simple enough questions, so she figured she could answer. "Usually, yes."

"That must be awesome. You'll have to show me how next time so I can be ready next time I lock myself out of the house."

"Well, there's always the Morgan door."

"True. But I'd be worried if I was sneaking into Chuck's room. I might be interrupting you two."

Sarah saw Devon give her a pointed look, and realized she was blushing.

"And you can probably fight off men twice your size."

"Yes, if I have to."

"Awesome." Devon took a big gulp of his water, and dropped the bottle into the plastic recycle bin. "How many languages do you speak?"

"Nine."

"Wow. I can barely even order takeout Thai."

Sarah swallowed the last of her water, and they started heading down the pathway through the park. Once her strides were even with Devon's he spoke again.

"Ever been shot?"

"Yes," she said somewhat reluctantly, not eager to get into the dangerous aspects of her job.

"Huh. I'll bet John has been shot a lot too."

"You mean on the job or in his personal life."

Devon chuckled. "And Chuck?"

Sarah stopped running. "Devon, you can ask about me, but I can't talk to you about Chuck. If it gets back to Ellie…"

"I understand." He continued on down the path. Sarah watched him for a moment, then moved to follow him.

* * *

"Ellie, you've got to be Chuck for me today. Tell me what to do."

"Well, I assume the answer to that is to go to your interview."

"That can't be all you've got! What if I go to the interview and they hate me?"

"They won't…hate you. You'll be fine."

"But what if they ask me questions?"

"It's an interview, Morgan. Of course they're going to ask you questions."

"And I'll have to answer them? That's barbaric!"

"Didn't you have to interview when you applied to Buy More?"

"Are you kidding? I handed a half-filled application to Big Mike, he stared at me for about five minutes, and then threw a green shirt at me. This other way is just…wrong to me."

Ellie sighed and sat down on the couch. The warm bath was going to have to wait.

* * *

The Crown Vic was notably silent as they drove back towards town. Chuck finally decided that he couldn't take any more of the awkward silence. "Look, I'm sorry I offended you."

When the usual grunt didn't come, he continued. "And when the thing goes off, I don't feel like I'm really the one doing it, so I know it's not me that's fighting off the bad guys, or blowing up school buses, or anything. So, I know it's not something that I can take …pride in."

Finally, a noncommittal grunt came in response.

"It's not like I can even control it. The other day, Awesome got me to play catch as some sort of brotherly bonding thing. And I threw what he called some 'knee-buckling 12-to-6 curve ball.' He looked at me with such amazement. And I didn't even know what it was. Why would the intersect even have that in there?"

Casey drove silently for a moment. "Undercover work."

"Really? They think I'd need to go undercover with the Dodgers?"

"Never know what you need to know when you're undercover. There's probably all sorts of random stuff in there for various undercover assignments."

"Good to know I won't be expected to try to kill an enemy agent with my blazing fastball."

"Actually, if you hit just the right spot of the head…"

Chuck raised up his hand. "Don't need to know, but thanks anyway Casey." He reflected for a little while, as the car headed into town. "So what kind of other skills do I have that I wouldn't know about?"

Casey shrugged. "I've been on all sorts of undercover assignments, and I've needed to be able to do all sorts of things to look the part. I know more about fixing roofs than I ever wanted to."

"Great, I can't wait to show off my brand-new roofing skills."

"I'm sure there's all sorts of other things too." Casey turned his head, and flashed Chuck a quick smirk. "Seduction, perhaps. We know you haven't come by any natural skills in that department, but maybe the machine gave you some. But don't try anything on me. Save that for your dwarf friend."

Chuck took a moment to try to decide if Morgan was more of a "Disney" dwarf or a Tolkien dwarf. Then he took a longer moment imagining using the intersect's seduction skills on somebody that _wasn't_ Morgan.

He sighed. "So I guess the next time a sexy Russian double agent visits, it'll be my job to find out what she knows."

"Let's hope not. Unless it's a sexy male Russian double agent."

Chuck was about to retort, but he recognized a storefront off to the right. "Casey, stop here!"

"What's your problem now?"

"Nothing. I just want to test this thing out."


	2. Chapter 2

They ran silently for a little while, but then Devon resumed his questions.

"Has Chuck saved people's lives?"

Sarah knew she couldn't get into any details, but figured she could answer that. "Absolutely."

"Awesome," he said effusively. Then, "Like, how many?"

"We don't really keep count. But it's quite a lot."

Devon looked thoughtful for a moment. "The other day, they brought in this kid to the hospital. He'd been on his bike, and a car had hit him as he was crossing the street. I guess it was touch-and-go for a while, but nothing out of the ordinary. Afterwards, the mother just kept thanking me and hugging me, saying how I'd saved her boy's life. That never happens for you guys, I guess?"

"Well, if things go right, nobody knows when we do save their lives. And it's part of the job, so we don't expect the gratitude."

"Still, it must suck sometimes."

Sarah shrugged. "I suppose. To be honest, it's never bothered me."

Devon stopped, and they sat down on a bench. The bench stood in front of a field, where a soccer game was going on. Kids were running back and forth, with their anxious parents standing around and watching.

After a bit, Devon said, "Ellie loves Chuck, that's never been a question. But I know that sometimes she seems disappointed in him. Knowing now, what he does, why he's been at the Buy More all this time, it can be kind of frustrating that she doesn't get the chance to be proud of him."

"Devon, you can't tell her anything about what you know."

"And I know that. It's just…"

"Not awesome?" Sarah said with a grin.

"Exactly."

"No, I know what you mean."

"On the other hand, if I were to tell Ellie what Chuck's been doing, I'd probably need both of you to protect me." Devon stood up, and they headed back down the path.

* * *

"So I think what I need is a persona."

"Persona?" Ellie asked, as she turned the corkscrew into the top of the wine bottle.

"Yeah, something to knock the socks off the interviewer. I could be the son of a billionaire who studied in Asia for years. Or better yet, I could be a spy, an international man of mystery."

Ellie poured some of the wine into a glass. "Morgan, that's a terrible idea."

"Why?"

"Well for one, nobody would buy you as a spy. Second, the whole point is to be yourself."

"Do you think I can impress these people by just being myself?"

Ellie used that moment to take a sip of wine.

"Ellie??"

"Of course they will," she finally replied. "Anna likes you for who you are, right?"

"Yes," Morgan answered, sounding somewhat unsure of himself. "Hey wait! Are you saying that because Anna likes me, all Asians like me? Cause that's kind of stereotyping. I'm disappointed in you."

Ellie took another gulp of wine. "No, Morgan, that's not what I'm saying."

"Good. Besides, it's not true. Anna's parents hate me."

* * *

"What are we doing here, Bartowski?"

Chuck slowly wandered the through the store, closely examining the different guitars. Finally, he found one he liked, and carefully removed it from the wall. He walked up to Casey, calmly returning the man's impatient glare.

"You said this thing could have all sorts of skills, right? I figured, I also wanted to learn to play the guitar. Maybe I already have."

Casey grunted, and glanced at his watch.

"Oh, c'mon, this has to beat yet another round of target practice."

Chuck headed to the corner of the store, and began to gently touch the strings with his fingers. There were a few other people in the store, but they paid no attention to him. A middle-aged man was also looking at a couple of different basses, while a couple of college-aged girls were hanging out in the back. The only other person in the store to notice him, the man standing behind the register, eyed him warily.

Chuck waited for the rush to hit his head. Nothing happened.

After a few moments, the salesman shook his head in bemusement and turned away. Casey chuckled, and Chuck could see him mouth the word, "Moron."

At this point, the two girls had moved toward the front of the store. As they walked around, pointing at various instruments they noticed Chuck standing there with the guitar. They looked at each other, and started giggling and pointing. That was when the flash hit Chuck. His hands immediately started strumming the guitar, and words made their way up through his throat.

"_I'm lying alone with my head on the phone_

_Thinking of you till it hurts_

_I know you hurt too but what else can we do_

_Tormented and torn apart"_

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Casey smirk. He continued through the song, and when he reached the chorus, his eyes widened in shock.

"_I 'm all out of love, I'm so lost without you_

_I know you were right believing for so long_

_I 'm all out of love, what am I without you_

_I can't be too late to say that I was so wrong"_

At this point, Casey was laughing out loud. Chuck wanted to stop, but neither his mouth nor his fingers seemed to obey him. The two girls were whispering to each other, and rolling their eyes, while the sales clerk was frowning. Realizing he was stuck, Chuck decided to make the best of it, and tried to imagine singing the song to the one person he wished could hear him.

* * *

"One more question."

They were just at the edge of the park, and were about to reach the road back home. Sarah was right at Devon's side, their strides nearly in sync. "Alright," she said, somewhat reluctantly.

"You and the Chuckster, what exactly…are you?"

Sarah immediately slowed down. This wasn't a question she was anxious to answer, but she figured she couldn't really run away from it. In fact, he was clearly in good enough shape that she couldn't even literally run away from it.

Devon paused when he realized his jogging buddy wasn't next to him, and jogged back towards her. The question was still clearly visible from his curious expression.

After a moment, she decided that the risk of potentially upsetting Ellie wasn't quite as great as the risk of incurring the wrath of the NSA and CIA. "Chuck and I need to be able to work with each other closely, even during odd hours. The best way to do this without raising suspicion about what we do is to pose as a couple."

"So you two, that's all fake." They started jogging down the path again.

"Yes." After a moment, she added, "You know you can't tell any of this to Ellie, right?"

"That won't be a problem."

"Good."

"It won't be a problem because I don't believe you."

"What?"

"I've seen the two of you together. I don't believe what you told me. Even if you do."

Sarah kept running for a while, before she realized she had quickened her pace. She slowed down again, and turned to Devon. "I'm sorry, but it's the truth." She added, "Up until a month ago, you were sure that I just served yogurt for a living. Do you really think you can read me so perfectly now?"

Devon shrugged, as he slowed down to a walk. "Pretending about what you do is one thing. What you do doesn't actually define you. Pretending about how you feel is something completely different."

Despite herself, Sarah raised her eyebrow questioningly.

"I, uh, sometimes watch Dr. Phil when I'm not on call in the morning. Still, I know what I see, and I can definitely read Chuck. And I'm pretty sure I can see it in you too."

"Like you said before, we spies are good at a lot of things."

"Look. I understand you have to keep this veil of secrecy around yourselves. I can respect that. And I'm sure what you are saying was true at least for a little while. But I don't think it's true anymore."

They began passing the familiar houses that marked the edge of their neighborhood. Devon looked back at Sarah, studying her face. "I'm sure interoffice romance is a bad thing in your kind of work. They probably keep close tabs on you to make sure every rule is followed. They figured if spies are involved in some way, they're…" Devon paused, searching for a word.

"Compromised," Sarah said softly to herself.

"So, I get that when you're around Ellie, you have to be two spies pretending to be a couple. And when you're around John, you can't be a couple, so you have to be a couple…pretending not to be a couple. And when you're around both Ellie and John, then I guess you're a couple pretending not to be a couple pretending to be a couple. But not the same couple that you're pretending to be."

Sarah's mouths curled up in a slight smile.

"So I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you're just around me, no John Casey, no Ellie, you guys can be whatever it is you actually are, without any pretending. If all you two are is just a couple of spies, then fine. But if not, be whatever it is you actually are, and you don't need to worry about me saying anything to Ellie or Casey or anybody else."

* * *

"Ok, Morgan." Ellie was starting to get frustrated. Pretty soon Devon and Chuck would be back, and her peaceful morning would be over. "How about this. When you're there, think of one of your biggest triumphs in your life. That way, you'll feel confident and you're sure to impress your interviewer."

"My biggest triumphs?"

"Sure. You must have done something that you're particularly proud of?"

"Well…"

"Oh come on. There must be something. An A on a difficult school assignment?"

"Nope."

"Ok. What about the Buy More? A big sale, or something like that?"

"Hmm." Morgan thought for a moment. "Oh! Did Chuck ever tell you about the mystery crisper?"

"No, not the mystery crisper, Morgan. There must be something else. Anything sports related?"

"Ellie, this is me you're talking to, not Captain Awesome."

"Ok, fine. But there has to be something."

"Oh, wait. I've got one. Back in the ninth grade, I won a Tomb Raider tournament. I beat seniors and everything?"

"A Tomb Raider tournament?" Ellie said uncertainly. Finally, she shrugged and said, "Ok, let's go with that. When you go to that interview, think of how you felt when you won that Tomb Raider tournament. Think of how foolish they would be not to like and respect somebody who's as good at…Tomb Raider as you are."

"Uh, ok, I guess I can try that. You're sure it will work?"

"Sure. You'll still be yourself, but the most successful version of you that you can think of. Got it, Morgan?"

"I think so."

"Remember, speak clearly at the interview, give him a firm handshake, and be sure to look him in the eyes when you speak to him."

"What if the interviewer's a she?"

"Then definitely look her in the eyes."

"Ok, then."

"So, you got it?"

"Well, do you think you can run everything by me again?"

* * *

The two girls finally had gotten bored with the performance, and had left the store, followed by the middle-aged man. The clerk came up to Chuck, making a slashing gesture by his neck. For a moment, Chuck wasn't sure if the man wanted to kill him or just wanted him to stop singing. At that point, the Intersect's hold on him, and he finally managed to stop.

"Would you please leave? You've driven off all of the customers."

Chuck wanted to argue that there weren't that many customers, but decided against it. He sheepishly handed the guitar to the clerk, and left the store. Casey was waiting for him outside.

"Thanks, Bartowski. I haven't had a laugh like that in a while."

"Why in the world would the Intersect pick that song? What kind of a spy situation would that help?"

"Never underestimate the value of quickly clearing a room. Next time we need to search a crowded place, we'll be sure to have you bring a guitar."

They got back in the Crown Victoria, and headed back home. Since Casey now seemed to be in a better mood, Chuck decided to talk to him again.

"Look, I know the Intersect isn't me. Believe me, especially now. And what the Intersect can do doesn't make me a different person. I hope you know that I didn't upload this thing so I could be good at kung fu or shooting bad guys or anything like that. I did because, well...."

Casey glanced at Chuck briefly. "I know why you did it."

"Oh. You do?"

"Yup. It's what I'd have done in the same situation."

Chuck decided this might be a time he'd be better off not saying anything, and let Casey continue.

"You're no longer some idiot who had everything dropped in his lap. You're not a draftee. You're a volunteer, like us."

Chuck nodded.

"And if volunteering means your brain got an upgrade, then so be it."

Casey slid into his usual parking space, and the two stepped outside. As he headed to his house, Casey said, "Semper Fi, Chuck."

"Semper Fi, Casey."

"Just try not to screw up as much. And find another damn song."

Sarah thought about what he had said, as they headed into the courtyard. He had hurried ahead when he had seen Ellie's car in the parking lot. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chuck approaching from Casey's house. He flashed a smile when he saw her. "So, jogging huh?"

"Yup."

"Awesome," he said in a perfect imitation of his brother-in-law.

Sarah laughed in response. "So, did you learn anything new today."

"Well, I learned never to let the Intersect DJ at a party." Sarah looked at him questioningly, but they had reached the door to the house. As they entered they heard Ellie's voice.

"Again, the most important thing is for you to be honest," Ellie sounded impatient, and her speech was oddly slurred. "Just be confident with yourself, and don't focus on who you think you are, or what you've done before, or think you can do now. That should be enough."

Chuck and Sarah exchanged a look.

"Ellie looked up from the couch and saw them. "Oh Morgan, Chuck just walked in. Talk to him." She motioned to Chuck and handed him the phone. "Please talk to Morgan. I can't take it anymore."

Chuck smiled at his sister, and carried to phone into his room. Devon appeared from the back and kissed his wife on the lips. "Hey babe, rough night?"

"Not as bad as this morning. I'm going to go take a nap."

"Alright babe, I've gotta head off to work soon." He smiled briefly at Sarah.

As the two left the room, Sarah looked back at Chuck's door, and sighed. She thought back to what Devon had said earlier. "If only it were that easy," she thought to herself.

End

_I hope everybody enjoyed my wallowing in dialogue, and please review away!_


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